1. Field of the Invention
The invention advances the state of the art of removing floor coverings such as carpets that are glued or fastened to a floor surface.
2. Description of Related Art
Floor coverings have been in use for the duration of recorded history. In more recent centuries, floor coverings have become more durable, and more suitable for use in residential and commercial high-traffic pedestrian areas. Those skilled and knowledgeable in the related fields of technology have long understood that such high-traffic environments establish unfavorable wear conditions for carpeting and other types of floor coverings. Many problems have resulted and include accelerated wear and deterioration. Some of this type of damage occurs as a result of unwanted shifting of the floor covering during use due to the movement of individuals, furniture and equipment.
Attempts to reduce wear due to undesired shifting have led to efforts to fasten the floor covering to the sub-floor. Fastening methods have included adhesive materials and mechanical fasteners. In more recent decades, advances in the state of the art of such fastening techniques have borne improved glues, and improved nails, tacks, staples, and combinations thereof. These fastening methods have matured and now ensure very strong and permanent interfaces that join the floor covering to the subjacent floor surface.
Despite improvement in the wear and damage that results from better fastening methods, floor coverings still see wear and unavoidable deterioration over time, which necessitates removal and replacement. Eventually, all floor covering layers must be removed to expose the sub-flooring or underlayment, so that a new floor covering can be installed. Similar problems persist with other types of covering materials, including, for example, removing roofing materials from roofing decks, and removal of interior and exterior wall and facade coverings, all of which have benefited from improved fasteners, adhesives, and combinations thereof.
The capability to remove a floor covering that is secured to the sub-floor using newer fastening techniques has become more difficult with each advance in fastening technology. In turn, the ever increasing difficultly has led to the need for more capable removal methods and technologies and those endeavoring in the related arts have continually attempted to improve the capabilities of hand-actuated tools.
In one attempt to improve carpeting removal tools, U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,616 to Gillespie describes a carpet remover that is limited to a rotary power drive that is adapted to drive a shaft that turns to peel and lift a carpet as the shaft turns.
The Gillespie shaft is formed with at least two clamps that grip an edge of the carpet as it is pulled away from the floor and rolled onto the shaft. Gillespie concedes that firmly glued carpet requires a shorter shaft so that more force is available to pull the carpet away from the floor, which requires more time to remove the carpet in smaller sections.
Further, for floor coverings such as carpets that are glued down very securely, Gillespie appears incapable of imparting adequate force to pull the carpet from the floor. As described, the shaft is adapted with a small moment arm in view of the small diameter shaft. Another issue inadequately addressed by Gillespie is that carpet removal must periodically cease as the carpet accumulates onto the shaft and must be removed.
The spooled carpet is also heavy, which also increases the force needed to turn the shaft. Further, the shaft is better adapted to remove only small sections of carpet at a time due to the limited length of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,476, to Adelman, Jr. describes another variant of the Gillespie device. As before, Adelman is restricted to a rolling shaft device that clamps an edge of the carpet and spools it onto the shaft as the carpet is pulled away from the floor. With these and other devices, it remains very challenging to remove carpets and other floor coverings that have been securely fastened to the floor surface, sub-floor, or underlayment.
Also, while many types of complex and expensive machines have also been devised, improvements remain wanting for hand removal tools. Smaller hand tools are needed for many reasons and to remove floor coverings in confined spaces and areas with minimal available clearances. Further, improvements are needed to increase the ease with which an edge of a floor covering may be lifted from a floor surface so that large sections may be gripped for easier removal by larger devices.
What has been needed and as yet unavailable, is a floor covering lifting and removal hand tool that enables easier removal of carpeting and other floor covering materials, as well as other types of coverings, which have been glued down or otherwise firmly secured to the subjacent surface. One notably useful feature that is needed in such a hand tool is a better way to overcome the bond of a strong adhesive and a mechanically secured interface between the floor covering and the floor surface. Such problems are pronounced with coverings from staircases, which can use glues and mechanical fasteners such as nails, staples, and screws. Also needed is an improved hand tool for use in confined spaces, and locations proximate to corners, walls, and narrow hallways, all of which can have floor coverings that are attached very securely. Such limited clearance areas present removal problems that are challenging because of close proximity to other structures, like walls, and interfere with the removal efforts.
In any of these contemplated scenarios, the devices of the prior art have little to offer in the way of a good method for starting the removal operation. More specifically, one of the key challenges that persist is that to remove a floor covering such as a carpet, users first must get a grip on an edge of the floor covering. To impart these gripping forces, the user must first lift such an edge from the floor surface before the removal operation can commence.
With most of the prior art devices, it is assumed that the user has already lifted a portion of the floor covering near such an edge. With that portion already lifted away from the floor surface, the prior art devices must be clamped onto the lifted section before removal can begin. In this way, a larger section of the floor covering can be attached to the removal apparatus so that removal can get underway more readily.
Accordingly, one necessary improvement needed by those skilled in the art is an improved tool for lifting the edge of the well-secured floor covering, to enable larger sections to be lifted and removed from the sub-floor more easily than has been previously possible. Such a new tool would more preferably also have the capability for enhanced ease of use in areas previously inaccessible with prior tools, such as stairs, ramps, narrow hallways, closets, and other similarly confined areas. Additionally, it would be even more preferable for such an improvement to be well adapted for use in the most commonly encountered areas that are in close proximity to structures such as walls, floor mounted fixtures, and other appurtenances that limit clearance for use of removal tools.